The Fastest Rise In Vacancies For Over 16 Years

The REC have recently published a report indicating that demand for staff has increased at its fastest pace since April 1998.

The number of available job vacancies continues to rise in August, with both the private and public sectors seeing increased demand. However, the availability of staff to fill these increased vacancies fell in August, with permanent candidates in particularly short supply.

Engineering workers saw the strongest expansion of vacancies, while Hotel & Catering roles registered the slowest growth. Nursing/Medical/Care was the most sought-after category for temp workers in August, closely followed by Engineering. The slowest growth was signalled for Executive/Professional workers.

In August 2014 permanent staff salaries continued to rise as well as temp pay also rose strongly, and at a faster pace than July.

Commenting on the latest report, REC CEO Kevin Green said:

“The jobs market is often criticised for being London-centric but our data shows that rates of growth for both permanent starting salaries and temp pay rates are faster in the South, Midlands and North this month. Recruiters tell us that the driver behind this increase is the competition to attract and retain the skilled people outside London.

However, Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG, added his concerns;

“Just when it seemed the UK’s economy had definitely turned a corner, a couple of warning shots have been fired across the bows of British business to suggest that everything is not quite ‘ship shape’. Jobs are still being offered, and are still sought after, but today’s figures show that permanent and temporary placements have eased in recent weeks.

“The problem is exacerbated by the fact that employers still cannot find staff with the right skill set. Their desperation to fill recruitment holes is leading to continued wage growth, which is creating a market that is both unsustainable and unrealistic. With vacancy growth reaching its highest since the survey began, I believe that the nervousness in the marketplace is more about the consequences of investing in the wrong people, than it is about spending money in an attempt to recruit the best talent. It’s a conundrum British business will have to solve quickly because if the job market stagnates the wider impact on performance will end up harming productivity.”